The Soldado from Ibarra Watches is One Hell of a Field Watch
We have always been huge fans of the Hamilton Khaki and its Murph variant for their rugged and under-the-radar charm that is the quintessential to field watches. Admittedly, these types of pieces are unlikely to be someone’s first foray in the world of horology or their first real watch to up their style. The genesis for our yearning for an honest-to-goodness military watch can be traced back to seeing astronaut Joseph "Coop" Cooper, portrayed by Matthew MacConaughey, leaving his Hamilton watch with his daughter named after the phenomenon known as Murphy's Law in Christopher Nolan's epic Interstellar (2014).
Hamilton eventually released that black-dialed watch to the public in 2019 and called it the Khaki Murph in honor of the film.
Which leads us to homegrown Filipino watch company Ibarra, which has been on our radar for quite some time. We think the brand is top-of-mind when it comes to what local watch companies should be doing in terms of quality and compelling watchmaking without being cheap copies of other watches.
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Ibarra's Soldado automatic watch for us could give more expensive brands like Seiko and the legendary Hamilton watch brand, known for their field watches, a run for their money due to the unique look the local piece offers.
Ibarra actually set up shop in 2014 and has cemented itself as ne of the more high-profile local watchmakers, drawing inspiration from historical timepieces with modern movements inside each of their pieces.
Former President Rodrigo R. Duterte was actually spotted wearing the brand's Plaridel 38 mm Automatic dress watch, which is also quite the looker.
Ibarra says its field watch is its attempt to recreate a timeless military classic, a type of timekeeping that was insturmental during wartime. This is no suprise as the brand has consistently leaned on its quest to pay tribute to its heritage and its respect for Philippine history.
The Soldado is described as a reliable workhorse housed in a sandblasted stainless steel case and pristine dial. It also has lume on the hands. The classy Ibarra logo is also found below the 12 o'clock hour marker. Based on Ibarra's website, the Soldado goes for P14,500.
You can also get the Soldado with a white dial
We see this piece as a viable alternative to the legendary Hamilton Khaki, which costs around P54,000 at retail, or the field watch offerings from Seiko that will run you around half the price of the Hamilton Khaki.
"It reimagines classic field watches for today's wrists while keeping as much original aesthetics present," accoring to the Filipino watchmaker.
